Lose some, Win some
by YoYo-Honey-Singh
Summary: How would it feel when your best friend has been killed by your allies? Naruto got the answer to this question when Sasuke was killed.. Would he be able to overcome the pain or will he fall into the darkness called revenge...Find out
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Loss

Naruto woke up to a sunny morning in Konoha. Though it was nearly 10 in the morning it was rather early considering he slept till afternoon on would have been the same routine if it was not for Kakashi-sensei."Naruto, you have been summoned by Tsunade-sama",he said with a bit more serious tone than usual."Aargh! TSUNADE-O-BACHAAN! ITS my FREEDAY! I-", Naruto sulked. However he was cut off by Kakashi's scolding," Enough! Naruto we must hurry."  
Naruto wondered what could be the matter. Well Kakashi sensei was never this serious before. As he walked towards the Hokage palace , he was filled with apprehension. In his gut he had this feeling that somethig is definitely not right. On entering the office he saw rest of the Team 7 there as well, all of them looking grim. "Granny Tsunade, what is the matter ?", he enquired only to get an answer that would shatter him.

"Sasuke is dead." These three words kept ringing in Naruto's head , his mind unable to register any other thought or action. Sasuke had the guts to do something as base as this! What about that promise ,the promise he made at the end of the 4th ninja war that he would come back to Konoha. After their fight was brought to a tie , didn't he promise that he would be with Sakura's side when he returns ? Why?Why?Why? Naruto's mind was full of questions. He needed the answers and needed them now.

Sakura , despite being the strong woman she was , broke down , not able to control her tears. The sad sobs brought Naruto back to reality. According to the Hokage, Sasuke made yet another attempt on the eigh-tails, this time trying to extract the Bijuu and become its Jinchuuriki. Killer Bee did not go easy on him and neither did the Raikage. Uchiha Sasuke , the most feared Uchiha of this generation was not able to take on both of them , not with Bee damaging one of his eyes . Without his Eternal Mangyeko Sharingan ,Sasuke was nowhere and finally went down to the 'Double Lariat'.

All these details were too much for Sasuke's teammates as they stormed out of the office. Naruto thought of comforting Sakura but he realised that she needed her own time and space to recover from the shock. He could tell so because he was going through the same torture. He made his way to the Hokage Monument to get some peace. High up from the mountains , the ninja village looked so calm and peaceful from the mountain. As if it were God's own creation. But on the inside he knew that it was not true peace. You cannot call it peace if you hear those silent sobs in your heart. He felt so deceived by fate. Why did it had to end like this.

The serenity of the place was broken by two wild kunais flying towards his direction. Without moving , the Toad Sage flicked the kunais with his fingernails. "Damn! Of all times!". Well no one wants to be disturbed while introspecting. As he looked up he saw the brown haired kunoichi from Gai-sensei's team. "Oh! So its you ",Naruto asked the girl. "Hey Naruto ! Long time no see. ", Tenten beamed. "So this news has been kept secret from everyone" , Naruto said to himself. "Eh! Did you say something? Oh well, forget about it , I saw Sakura crying ", she rolled her eyes ,"I hope Sai did not hurt her again . He is too insensitive." "It is nothing of your concern",came the cold reply."Could you please leave me alone? I need a private moment." "Umm... OK if thats what you wish." Tenten was a bit surprised to see the usually happy faced Naruto this depressed. "Well the Baka could do with some rest," she thought as she resumed her training.

**LATER THAT DAY**

Team Gai had been briefed of their mission by the Hokage. It was an escort mission, not a difficult task , considering there were now three Jounins in the team. The third? Well of course it was Tenten . Her hardwork was already paying off. As the team was ordered to disperse, the kunoichi stayed behind. "Umm.. Tsunade -sama, I noticed Sakura crying the other day. Not only that, Naruto was depressed too. Did something happen between them?" she asked praying that she would not get hit by the short tempered Hokage. However she saw that sad look on the Hokage's face , the emotions when Jiraiya sama was killed by the Akatsuki. Tsunade replied,"Sasuke was killed by the Hidden Cloud. Do I need to say anymore?" Tenten clapped her hands on her mouth as she nearly shouted ," Why the Jounin council was not informed about this ?" "MIND YOUR MANNERS! Anyways I was about to make a formal announcement tomorrow. " "I am very sorry, Tsunade-Sama."Tenten apologised as she realised that she had crossed her limits. And in a moment teleported back to her apartment .

**AT SAKURA'S APARTMENT**

"Good morning Sakura!Now, now get ready is here. He is waiting for you downstairs", Mrs. Haruno woke up her precious daughter ."Huh! Shikamaru? What's up with him now? Another idiot showing me some sympathy ? Hmmph..." Ever since the news of Sasuke's death spread in the village, her house was like flooded with her friends, each showing his or her sympathy . As if it would bring her Sasuke-kun back.

After some forty minutes of wait , Shikamaru had every right of getting pissed off. He, however, knew better things to do than getting all worked up. After all , he felt the same way as Sakura when Asuma-sensei died. "Ohaiyo Shikamaru! ", a sweet, but pained voice called out. "Ohaiyo Sakura!",Shikamaru replied, " Sakura, I need to talk to you ." "And how will it work out ? Sasuke-kun is no more with me , all this because of you!", Sakura nearly cried out , half accusingly Shikamaru. "Hey hey! Calm down Sakura. What did I do now?",Shikamaru asked trying to reconcile with the girl. "If only you had stopped Sasuke-kun that day, he would still be here with me. He died because of your **indifference****!**" Shikamaru shuddered at the thought. That mission... His first mission ended as a catastrophe. He got his friends nearly killed , not to mention they could not retrieve Sasuke...**"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?" **Some pretty harsh words brought Shikamaru back to reality.**"I AM TALKING TO YOU!**,Sakura cried, the pain clearly evident in her voice. Shikamaru had to do something , this was getting too troublesome . Not that the medic-nin could easily smash him now that she was this angry, but he was getting pained in his heart. It was as if he could feel Sakura's pain. "Sakura...I need to tell you a secret. Sasuke did not die because he left this village, not because the Hidden Cloud got him, he died because he was a **man** , he died because he lived ." "Bu-But...",Sakura tried to contradict Shikamaru but was stopped by her swelling emotions... "Let it all out Sakura.. All the pain , all the unhappiness , all the unpleasantness. That will be the first step to redeem yourself."

" Why is this lazy bum always like this? Why is he always right?",spoke Sakura to herself as she let the dam of emotions within herself break. She hugged Shikamaru, almost unconsciously, as if he was the only support nearby , the only one who could understand her. Shikamaru was a bit surprised, but hugged her back , allowing Sakura to dry her tears on him. That was a new feeling for the Nara kid. It was not like girls have not cried over Sasuke before, it was just that all of their tears seemed fake in front of this girl's emotions. Really! She loved Sasuke, the love allowing her to bottle all her sadness , all her concern for the Uchiha brat till now wearing a fake smile. "Shika-kun!",Sakura sobbed,"Help me...". She wanted someone to share her pain, and felt that Shikamaru was the one who could help her. Shikamaru hugged her back, as if trying to absorb all of her sadness. " I am here with you, by your side,now dont you worry girl."said Shikamaru as he tightened the hug.

Now what is that feeling ? It is the same she had whenever Sasuke-kun was around, just more intense."Sakura, you better not fall for this.", the inner Sakura said softly. It was rare for that manifestation of the girl to be this gentle. Was the medic-nin missing something? Some little aspect of Shika-kun's was no ordinary sympathy session. There was something deeper...

After a few minutes ,Sakura regained her composure as she broke the hug. The uncertainity which she shrouded herself was slowly drifting away...


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

**AT NARUTO'S HOUSE**

The night sky was darker than usual, with only a solitary star twinkling in the sky."Is that you Sasuke? Dont tell me that you are watching over me and all those shitty stuff. I am kind of hating you now",Naruto spoke to himself as he looked at the only star in the heavens," If only, if only had Kakashi sensei reached the Valley of the End a bit earlier, if only ero-sennin had defeated Itachi when he had a chance, if only Tsunade-o-Bachan had dispatched a better team to retrieve Sasuke, if only ... No! They are all to blame. All of them . All of those people who now rest in peace just because Sasuke is out of their way. I will take my revenge. Sasuke, you did not give a shit about me till the very end. Yet I feel I gotta do something to avenge you, starting with..." ."NARUTO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT BAKA? ARE YOU BLIND TO OUR FEELINGS?" The peace of naruto's balcony as well his murderous intents were disrupted by a scared voice. Naruto turned back , "Kuso! I could not sense her." "You were thinking too loud ",said the brown haired kunoichi from Team Gai , still scared of the Naruto's dark side. Naruto had those red eyes, those murderous eyes which frightened Tenten to the core. "GET AWAY FROM ME! DON'T INTERFERE" Naruto exclaimed as he attacked Tenten, probably not able to recognise her due to his rage. He shot a concentrated beam of chakra ,aiming at Tenten's heart. The weapon expert quickly summoned a iron barrier to protect herself. However the chakra beam was too strong, it melted away the barrier. Tenten managed to jump and escape with just a few scratches. Just then Kyuubi-Naruto went to a mad frenzy.

**"OI GAKI! CALM DOWN! YOU ARE FREE TO TAKE ALL OF MY CHAKRA ,BUT YOU ARE TAKING MY WILL AS WELL! IT WILL DESTROY YOU ! STOP RIGHT NOW!"** It was kyuubi shouting at Naruto. Naruto had somehow forced him to give his will as well. **"YOUR HATRED! IT IS GREATER THAN MINE!" STOP IT NARUTO."**

As Tenten jumped to avoid yet another attack , she managed to fire an emergency flare to the sky. However it misfired. When Tenten checked it out, she found a chakra arm crushing the flare. As she turned back she saw naruto in the **Demon fox cloak**. Naruto prepared to fire another another chakra beam on Tenten ,this time it was more powerful. Tenten was still airborne and her biggest defense had been already nullified. She closed her eyes as she prepared for her fate.

**"BAKA!BAKA!BAKA! STOP IT ALREADY!",**Kyuubi shrieked,**"I WILL HAVE TO INTERFERE NOW."** He, from the inside of naruto's body ,summoned the failsafe sealing jutsu which had been provided to him by The Sage Of Six Paths ,for he was the most powerful bijuu. He shouted,**" FUUINJUTSU: TEMPORARY SELF-SEAL"**. Chains from all around the Nine tails bound him, supressing his chakra and hatred as well.

However it was too late ; the chakra beam which Kyuubi-Naruto shot at Tenten hit her directly, piercing her heart. As she fell to the ground , she thought to herself," Did my crush kill me right now ? I guess I am still not fit for him, I deserve to die afterall." As she was counting her final moments in the world, Naruto lost the demon fox cloak due to kyuubi sealing all of his hatred away.

"Huh...What happened...Tenten...Kyuubi...NO! TENTEN!" cried Naruto as he regained his senses,"Did I kill her? Oh no! Tenten, Hang on!" .The Jinchuuriki scanned the surroundings and saw a near dead Tenten. "NO!TENTEN! NOT LIKE THIS ! DONT GO AWAY!"

**"YOU KILLED HER KID." **Naruto heard kyuubi's voice from his subconsciousness,**"YOU ARE PAYING FOR YOUR DEEDS. PEACE!MY ASS! YOU SENT AN INNOCENT TO ETERNAL SLEEP."** "Help me Kyuubi ,it should not be this way, I need to save her. Please...please..."Naruto request faded to sobs as he felt true helplessness. **"ALRIGHT TAKE SOME OF MY YANG CHAKRA** ,** MIX IT WITH YOUR YIN CHAKRA AND PICTURISE THE GIRL ALIVE." **Naruto did not hesitate and quickly did as ordered. He imagined Tenten to be alive with the yin element and breathe life into it by using the Yang element. As his imagination merged with reality, Tenten's wound healed and she was alive ,well breathing at least. Naruto rushed the girl to the Konoha hospital.

After nearly twenty minutes, Ino came out of the Intensive Care Unit. She had a relieved expression on her rushed to her and waited for her response. Ino told him that it was just a case of chakra exhaustion , nothing to worry about. Huh thats what every medic-nin would say the same thing. It was no exhaustion dammit! Tenten was dead temporarily! After getting the permission for a visit , he entered the intensive care unit. Tenten was asleep . For a second Naruto thought for a moment that she was dead again and checked her pulse. Thank God she was okay, just asleep. As Naruto let free her hand, Tenten grabbed it."Naruto-kun, don't give in to your hatred!",she managed to say before passing out again. This proved to be the last strand for Naruto as he broke down. Tightening his grip on Tenten's hand, he let out all of his emotions run girl still believed in him, even after he killed her just an hour ago. "I promise, Ten-chan. I promise."

**AT THE VILLAGE MARKETPLACE**

As usual , the marketplace was filled with the horrid cacaphony of shopkeepers arguing with the customer, a street brawl. "It is really so troublesome", thought Shikamaru as he recalled yesterday's events. Sakura , hugging him as if there would be no tomorrow, her pleading for help, that warm fuzzy feeling when they both were hugging each other... Oh man it was just so complicated. What came over them? The Nara kid had no idea about his situation before he heard Ino's voice. " Ohaiyo, Shikamaru-kun . Well, well I did not know that you were interested in flowers, you never visited my shop before." "Ehh..Flower shop, what the hell!". Shikamaru scanned the surrounding. He had walked into the Yamanaka Florists."Ohaiyo,Ino! Sorry to disturb you but could you help me?" "Well whats the problem?" Ino enquired. She was a bit curious. Hey! It was Konoha's best brain asking her for help! "What do I do when a girl hugs me and asks me to help her, in an emotional matter out of bounds for me?" "And may I know who is this girl?" Ino wondered. After Temari , just who is this new girl?"Nothing of your concern ",came the cold reply. "Then I won't help you",replied a pissed off Ino. Shikamaru shrugged and turned back to leave the shop. Ino would be of no knew he had to do it , whatever he was supposed to do! He thought of starting with flowers , the evergreen way of the romantic. But no way was he going to buy flowers from Ino. She would trouble him even more.


End file.
